For only the second time in 100 years, the MLB has two pitching Triple Crown winners. After Detroit Tigers’ lefty Tarik Skubal won the AL pitching Triple Crown over the weekend, Atlanta Braves’ ace Chris Sale did the same in NL on Monday.
Skubal finished the 2024 campaign, leading the American League in wins, ERA, and strikeouts despite not playing since September 24. In 31 starts, he went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts while helping the Detroit Tigers to their first playoff appearance since 2014.
He is the third Tigers’ pitcher to win the Triple Crown after Hal Newhouser did it in 1945, and Justin Verlander achieved the feat in 2011.
Sale, on the other hand, secured his Triple Crown in the National League after being scratched from a doubleheader against the New York Mets on Monday due to a back spasm. He made 29 starts this season, going 18-3 and finishing with an MLB-best 2.38 ERA and adding 225 strikeouts.
The last time that MLB had dual Triple Crown winners was in 2011 when Clayton Kershaw won the NL pitching Triple Crown and Justin Verlander won the AL pitching Triple Crown. Prior to that, it happened in 1924.
